The Spirits Within
by TakutaNicodemus
Summary: Something happened to baby Harry that night at Godric's Hollow, something that the Dark Lord did not intend. Severus and Lucius notice something amiss with the brat that leads to a dark secret. What happens when the Dark Lord discovers his spirit had latched on to Harry's when the Killing Curse backfires? AU


Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do not receive any monetary compensation for this work. No copyright infringement is intended by this work. I am simply borrowing her characters for fun.

AN (6.22.13): First fanfiction! This is a story that has been running through my head for a little while. I am unsure of all pairings for now so I will only add those as I get around to writing them. There will be Slash, Het, H/C, Multi, Dom/Sub, BDSM, underage, oral, anal, etc. If you do not like any of this, please do not read. I hope those of you who continue will enjoy!

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

A bright green light flashed through an upstairs bedroom window, then silence. A tall, dark figure wearing black as night robes and an ornate silver mask waits patiently for his master's return, hopefully with his prize in tow. Severus Snape was brimming with anticipation, his beloved Lily would be finally his. He could not wait to hold her in his arms, bury his face in her fiery red hair, and inhale her enticing scent. He dreamed of staring into her emerald green orbs for the rest of eternity.

His master, the Dark Lord, promised to spare her life; in exchange, Severus revealed the prophecy he overheard at The Three Broomsticks and would spy on the Order. He was able to uncover Peter Pettigrew as the Potter's secret keeper when they went into hiding, and brought the rat in for questioning and torture. He smirked at the memory- the rat barely had the Cruciatus curse on him before he ran his mouth and disclosed the Potter's location. As he begged for the Dark Lord to allow him to live and serve him, his life was snuffed out quickly by a flash of green light. Lord Voldemort did not want a traitorous, weak fool in his ranks, and Severus' only regret had been that he was not the one to end the life of one of his childhood tormentors.

Several minutes passed with no sign of anyone. Severus began to worry, although one would not be able tell from his mask of indifference. He was to wait for his master at the edge of the cemetery, but as the minutes ticked away, his resolve began to crumble.

_Something is wrong._

Casting a disillusionment charm on himself, he carefully and quietly makes his way to the back door of the Potter residence, his wand ready. The door was blown off its hinges, and broken furniture is strewn on the floor. He comes across a male body- James Potter. Severus smirks as he looks upon his main tormentor, dead, his eyes frozen in a look of fear. _'Two down, two more to go.'_

Severus knows his master wants to offer Black a chance to switch sides. With Sirius being the last male heir to the most ancient house of Black, and a pureblood to boot, the Dark Lord wants to preserve as much magical pureblood as he can to create his glorious empire. Severus knows it is a waste of time, and has even spoken to his master about this, but he knows his master will do what he wishes, and will murder him if he does not bow down before him. The wolf, Lupin, is another matter. Since Fenrir Greyback is the alpha male of his pack, the Dark Lord hopes he can assert his rights over Lupin, and have him bow down to the Dark Lord. Otherwise, Greyback has express permission to "dispose of the wolf as he sees fit."

Listening carefully for any signs of life, Severus continues to pick his way through the house. The silence is deafening. He climbs the stairs carefully, his wand out and ready for any traps. He approaches a room at the end of the hallway, a light on to indicate someone might be in there.

The room is in shambles, with broken nursery furniture and baby toys strewn everywhere, except for the crib. Severus takes a few steps closer to the crib, finding a toddler with messy black hair and emerald green eyes staring up at him. Shock registers on his face.

'_He's…still alive?! But how…'_ Severus' thoughts are drawn to a set of black robes piled on the floor, his master's wand resting on top. Severus turns back to the child in the crib, noticing for the first time a lightning bolt scar on his forehead and his bright green eyes flickering to a deep crimson and back again. Severus cocks his head to the side, eyebrow raised as he has a staring contest with the child.

Severus' mind explodes with questions. _'What the bloody hell happened here? Where is the Dark Lord? Why is this brat still alive? Where's Lily?'_ His mental tirade is stopped when he notices a flash of red out of the corner of his eyes. He turns his head to the left and sees his beloved face down on the floor.

His breath catches in the back of his throat and tears form in his onyx eyes, but he fights them back. _'Maybe she is just knocked out,'_ he hopes as he drops to his knees beside Lily. He reaches out to his beloved, his potion-stained fingers brushing against her lovely, pale hand.

She is ice cold.

Severus chokes back a sob as he pulls her to him. His tears finally break loose down his sharp cheek bones as he stares into his beloved's face. Her bright red hair stands out against her pale, cold skin. The light that once shown in her emerald green eyes was gone.

Severus buries his face into the crook of her neck, catching a faint whiff of her scent as he cries. His carefully constructed mask is shattered as he holds his beautiful flower to his chest, his body shaking with his sobs. He misses the entrance of his friend, and fellow spy, looking over the scene before him.

Lucius Malfoy had been standing in the door of the nursery for several minutes, watching his friend Severus cry over the mudblood in his arms. He had been stationed on the outskirts of the forest behind the Potter residence when he noticed Severus sneak into the house. Like Severus, he had been ordered by their master to wait outside until the Dark Lord had dispatched the Potters and their brat. Also like Severus, his patience was wearing thin when his Lord did not appear, and decided to follow Severus to investigate. He needed to know if something ill had happened to his master, so that he might warn his fellow Death Eaters before the Order and Aurors were able to arrest them.

Lucius had approached the house cautiously, wand at the ready in his hand. He paid little mind to the mess, or to the body of James Potter as he made his way upstairs. He found himself at the door of the nursery when Severus was standing over the only piece of furniture left intact. He noticed the black robes and wand belonging to his master on the floor next to Severus' feet.

'_Gods, what happened?'_ he wonders.

When Severus moves away from the crib toward the mudblood's body, Lucius sneers maliciously. _'Stupid, filthy mudblood. She should of let the Dark Lord kill the brat and joined us.'_ He did not like how Severus was so infatuated by the woman. There are plenty of pureblooded women more worthy of an acolyte of the Dark Lord. Even his blood traitor of a sister-in-law was a better match to Severus, if only she had not ran away with her own mudblood, causing shame to the Black family name.

Lucius stepped forward into the nursery proper, standing next to the crib. He wordlessly summoned his master's wand from the floor, placing it within his robes for safekeeping. He glances over to the child in the crib, doing a double take when he notices the child's eyes flashing from green to red, like those crazy muggle streetlamps. He commences a staring contest with the Potter brat, thoughts of what happened flitting through his mind.

'_The brat is oddly quiet for what went on here,'_ Lucius notes the strange behavior, knowing that his own son Draco would be whimpering like a babe who wants his mother's breast. He also notes the scar on the brat's forehead. _'Curious.'_ He files away his observations in favor of discussing those thoughts with Severus later. The clock tower outside chimes thirty minutes after midnight; a warning their time of lingering is at an end.

"Severus, we need to leave, now!" Lucius orders, catching his friend off guard.

Severus stares up at Lucius with red, puffy eyes and tear tracks down his prominent cheeks. He does not want to abandon his beloved, but he knows Lucius is right. He silently nods his assent as he lays his Lily down on her back. He takes his wand in hand, casting a spell to cut off a lock of her red hair, storing it away in an empty vial in his robes. He notices she is wearing a charm bracelet on her right wrist. He fingers through the chain and finds the charm he had given to her in their fourth year, when they were still best friends. He tugs on it; the charm comes loose in the palm of his hand. He stores it away with her hair.

Severus takes one last look at his beloved. He stares into her lifeless eyes as he leans down toward her, placing his lips on hers. He felt like her lips were leaching the warmth out of his as he whispered, "Forgive me, Lily. I love you. Always."

He closes her eyelids, shutting out her green eyes. He rises, and strides over to where Lucius is standing near the nursery door. Severus takes one last longing look at his beautiful Lily before turning to her son in the crib. His eyes flash once more to a deep crimson, _'Just like the Dark Lord's.'_ he thought. He turns to Lucius, grabbing onto the offered cane as he feels like pull of the portkey, depositing both men at one of Lucius' homes in the country.

Back at the Potter residence, Harry Potter, son of James and Lily Potter, waits quietly in his ram-shackled room for what fate has in store for him next.


End file.
